The Curtain Rises
by The Lunar Lioness
Summary: "It should not be about the stage, it should be about those that dance upon it. Despite how you dress it up, a stage is just a stage. It is the performers that make it an arena. It 's quite sad then isn't it? How only one of them will ever get to see the curtain rise again." Welcome to the 36th Annual Hunger Games! *Open SYOT*


Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games or the lyrics below. I wouldn't be writing this if I did.

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_It's funny how life turns out. The odds of faith in the face of doubt.  
__Camera one closes in. The soundtrack starts. The scene begins._

_Josh Joplin Group, "Camera One"_

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**_Head Gamemaker Hibernia Wormwood_**

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A childish grin spreads across Hibernia's lips, her eyes widening in admiration and joy at the sight of the holographic projection that lay on the desk before her. Leaning forward in her chair to get a better look at what had taken weeks for her assistants to find. Her pale-skinned hands gripping the soft material of the armrests tightly to keep herself from launching her whole being at it.

Doubt had been growing amongst her workers after she turned down landscape after landscape they had shown her, they tried to hide it behind smiles and apologises but Hibernia could sense their fear. If anything, they were all more glad than she was at having found one that made her heart skip a beat. None of them could see the little details in her face though. If you could, you would be able to tell it wasn't that she was glad to see it, she was excited to see it.

Ever since it was placed in front of her, her eyes had been scanning over the canvas that had been selected for her. Hibernia's vision for her arena, her stage was right there as if someone had reached into her mind and took note of every single detail.

"Are you pleased with it, Ms. Wormwood?

Snapping her back to reality, Hibernia lifts her head up and stares into the unnatural silver eyes of the person who replaced her as an Assistant Gamemaker- also the source of the slightly shaken, feminine voice. Jessamyn Fink, previously the Head of Traps, with her dark violet bangs in a never-ending state of limbo around her finger and her other arm pressed close against her side, trying to ignore the temptation the chair that lay a few inches was offering her.

Another newbie. Another frightened soul. Another person who would have to succeed if they wanted to keep what was precious to them. Another person to whom failure was anything but an option. Another simple worker like her.

"You shouldn't be worried, Jessamyn. It's perfect," Hibernia continues on, carrying the soft tone that has unexpectedly entered her voice, "It's everything I wished it to be and more."

Almost as if her words had flipped a switch, the taller woman's body instantly relaxes as a soft yet audible breath of air escapes out her mouth. Letting go of the locks which a few moments before were still twisted around her digit, she runs her hand through her hair before glancing down at the seat beside her.

Raising her head to notice an encouraging nod from the small-framed blonde, Jessamyn lowers herself gently onto the cushion, fixing herself so her shoulders lay flat against the high back of the chair. Licking her lips and swallowing whatever fear was inside her throat, Jessamyn parts her lips and hesitates for just a moment before moving again.

"Ms. Wormwood, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course. What is it you're wondering about?" Hibernia replies, cocking her head slightly to the side, eyes darting between the still active hologram and the currently shifting woman before settling on the latter.

"Well, I was thinking about why you made us go and find you an already existing island instead of just building one." Despite the fact her silver eyes were blinking rapidly with some sort of nervousness, Jessamyn's voice was filled with only pure curiosity. Realising that Hibernia wasn't going to make an attempt to stop her, the purple haired woman carries on. "I mean, you were one of the main creative forces behind some of the greatest arenas of Mr. Lares' era, so it confuses me why you would go to such lengths to find something you could just build. That is all."

Silence fills the Head Gamemaker's office as Hibernia's brow knots in concentration. A few minutes pass like this before an irregular drumbeat shatters whatever uncomfortable silence remained. Tapping the tips of her fingers on the desk in a rhythm that only makes sense to her, Hibernia makes one final clap before turning to see the confused look on her assistant's face.

"Silence doesn't sit well with me, I prefer noise. It helps me to think." Hibernia declares although it only slightly helps to lessen the confused expression purple-haired woman wears. "Some of Remus' arenas were magnificent to look at, I will admit, but if they were that entertaining, then why isn't he sitting in this chair right now?"

Jessamyn's face shifts from confused to something along the lines of understanding. Scraping her chair off the hard floor, Hibernia takes to her feet and saunters past her desk and Jessamyn's chair, chatting mindlessly as she goes.

"You see, Remus was a very talented artist but that was all he was. He thought that if he made a nice, pretty arena, his job would be safe and people would be happy with his work. How naive of him. The Games are not a single picture but the greatest stage in the whole of Panem. In order for a stage to come alive, it needs great actors. Remus was very unfortunate, the tributes he got weren't good enough for his arenas. It was as simple as that, but he was too proud to admit it. Nonetheless, he should have known better anyway, you can't repeat mistakes when President Varley is involved. Remus did."

Coming to a stop just in front of the door, Hibernia swivels to see the purple haired woman turned almost all the way around in her seat. Hibernia lets an lopsided smirk appear on her face, one that looks like it couldn't belong to the same features as the youthful grin from before.

"The island is merely the base for my design. I'll be able to shape it how I see fit, that's what people think being Head Gamemaker is all about. Not for me, I've been..." Running her hand down her face, Hibernia searches her mind for the right term to describe the work she has done so far, "... making sure my arena receives only the best possible performers. Of course, I've left some of it to chance. Everyone likes a surprise, especially us Capitolites. It's always better to keep the viewer guessing."

Taking that final statement as her cue, Hibernia turns on the ball of her foot, reaching for the door handle as she takes a confident step towards it. After pulling it open with a sharp jerk, the blonde makes a move toward the empty corridor before coming to a sudden halt. Craning her neck to the left, Hibernia calls back to the dazed figure that still remains attached to the seat.

"When you're watching the Games, Jessamyn, remember to keep on guessing."

'Just because you are a Gamemaker doesn't mean you know what's going to happen. It's much better for you though. You don't want to know what I have planned for the Games, what I have planned for the arena, what I have planned for the tributes. It's not as much fun if you do.'

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**A/N: **Hey there and welcome to my first ever SYOT, the 36th Hunger Games! The form and guidelines are on my profile but a few things first.

I will not be doing a sponsorship system and reviews are greatly appreciated as it lets me know who is reading the story. This helps me decide which tributes will live longer as authors who I know are reading the story will tend to have tributes which live longer.

That's not the only factor concerning tribute deaths however. Plot relevance, the flow of the Games and realism of the character along with a few other things will be taken into account when plotting character deaths.

There will be various polls about different topics spread throughout which may or may not have an effect on what happens in the story.

This is open submission with no reservations so you have a week until submission closes to create your tributes. Make sure to use that time wisely and make sure to read the guidelines as well, I'll know if you've not. And please, make sure the names resemble Panem names. Over-used and tacky names aren't going to help my first impressions of your tributes either.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I would like to thank Chaos in Her Wake for being my beta, she was a brilliant help.

Apart from that, I hope you enjoyed this prologue and I wish you happy submitting!


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